Right Honorable Emmanuel SINZOHAGERA pleads for the abolition of Burundi’s contributions to the APF during the sanctions period

During his work mission to Geneva, Switzerland, on the occasion of the 149th Assembly of the Inter parliamentary Union (IPU), the Speaker of the Senate of Burundi, Right Honorable Sinzohagera Emmanuel, with his delegation , participated, Monday October 14, 2024, in a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) led by Nicolas Walder, Vice-President of the APF.

The latter presented the achievements and future prospects of this Assembly.

During the discussions, the Speaker of the Senate of Burundi drew the attention of the leaders of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) to the trend of making the French language disappear. For him, the disappearance of French will lead to the dissolution of this French-speaking Assembly.

“You must preserve French and do everything to integrate it into other communities. For example, you can give your contribution to the official integration of French into the East African Community (EAC) and EALA, he insisted.

Right Honorable Sinzohagera Emmanuel also pleaded for the APF to review its statutes in relation to the suspension of countries in this Assembly. He said Burundi was unfairly suspended from membership in 2015, but dues were not suspended. For him, the elimination of duties should be done at the same time as that of obligations.

Thereupon, he requested the free remission of these contributions during this period.

After the APF meeting, the   Speaker of the Senate of Burundi participated in the opening ceremonies of the 149th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union which took place in the plenary room of this Assembly, under the presidency of the Right Honorable Tulia Ackson , President of the IPU and the Parliament of Tanzania.

The Speaker of the Upper House of the Burundian Parliament also took part in a breakfast exchange of experiences of Parliaments’ Speakers.

COMMUNICATION FROM THE RIGHT HONORABLE EMMANUEL SINZOHAGERA, SPEAKER OF THE SENATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI ON THE OCCASION OF THE 149TH ASSEMBLY OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION (IPU)